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Pixel 9 also says satellite emergency support ("Satellite SOS"). Search for info gets you to https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15254448?hl=en&sjid=21

Pixel 9 also says satellite emergency support ("Satellite SOS"). Search for info gets you to https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15254448?hl=en&sjid=2164269888057418501-NC https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15254448?hl=en&... It looks like it's coming "later this year". Lots of chatter about it, see a few details at https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-9-satellite-sos-3467698/ https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-9-satellite-sos-34676... * apparently coming with android 15, but they are shipping android 14 * turning on satellite sos later, but this year * us only * free for 2 years on pixel 9 phone, but probably would cost more later? If you go on a lot of backcountry trips, maybe you already have something like a Garmin device with paid in-reach service with texting and emergency service button - no voice support. I have this, it works well. You can do 2 way texting, also you can have your location uploaded as you travel if you wish.

S201 2y ago
Plus Garmin devices use the Iridium network which has truly global coverage (as opposed to Globalstar which is only in select areas of the world) as well as other features useful for non-emergency backcountry travel. I won't be dropping my Garmin InReach any time soon.
- DebtDeflation 2y ago
  Correct. Globalstar is a "bent pipe analog repeater" network. They have ground gateway stations that provide connectivity from their satellites to the public switched telephone network and internet. In order for your handheld to work, you need a satellite in view and that satellite must have a ground gateway station in view. Iridium doesn't have that latter requirement. I won't be getting rid of my InReach Mini anytime soon.
  - lxgr 2y ago
    On the other hand, that "bent pipe" nature is what allowed Globalstar to support a (presumably) completely new type of protocol and modulation over existing, decades-old satellites! Apple has also been adding new ground stations as part of their agreement with Globalstar, which has, among other things, added coverage to Hawaii. I'm pretty sure they have much larger plans for this than just emergency texting.
- charles_f 2y ago
  Plus the fact that the inReach has a mad battery life, and is a very simple and dependable device.
- switchbak 2y ago
  I know someone on our local SAR team that had mentioned they were having issues with folks using the Apple devices for SOS that resulted in long delays. This is for coastal British Columbia, so perhaps not a universal experience - but something to keep in mind. Personally, I'd stick with the better known option, and like another commenter said - the battery life on the Garmins are pretty amazing, and it doesn't weight much.
- not2b 2y ago
  I do a lot of solo hiking and use a Garmin with InReach in case of emergency and to reassure my wife, it can also send my position every N minutes (I usually set it for 20 when on the trails in an area with limited or no cell phone coverage). I wouldn't mind if similar functionality becomes common on cell phones.
- delfinom 2y ago
  And I rather depend on a PLB, whose signal can be picked up by an international network of receivers on 406MHz, and even transmits a homing beacon for first responders. No subscription required either. You simply register the beacon with a government agency (in the US, its via the NOAA, and distress signals are handled by the coast guard or air force receivers)
thedman9052 2y ago
How much is the subscription for the Garmin device? I'm curious because I bought my parents a personal locator beacon, since they are retired and hike constantly. It costs more up front but has no subscription, and I didn't want to gift something with a high recurring cost. There's no communication option, it's all or nothing - if it's activated they send the helicopters. On the plus side, it has a fixed 7 year battery life, so no need to worry about charging or it dying when you need it (if you remember the expiration date). I'm curious what Google will charge for their SOS feature and how it will compare to PLV or a satellite communicator.
- NotSammyHagar 2y ago
  It's not cheap, about $12/month is cheapest plan, https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461. Pay 0.10c for tracking points, you have 10 text messages a month. If you use it a lot, you'll start to increase your fees, I'm on the next higher plan which I think is $35/m. I should revisit that, it's a lot over a year ;-) They have the basic devices (connect with phone, or emergency button), I have the one with maps built in. That one is awesome, it has worldwide city and trail maps. Maps works without a subscription, but I do use it for trips where there is no phone service more to get text messages.
  - dgacmu 2y ago
    They also charge you for time spent with service suspended. We finally canceled ours when my wife got an iphone with satellite SOS - it was pretty expensive for something we would typically use (activate, not actually use - we've never had to SOS) one or two months per year.
  - BeetleB 2y ago
    I assume you meant 10c and not 0.1c. (See https://verizonmath.blogspot.com/ https://verizonmath.blogspot.com/)
    - NotSammyHagar 2y ago
      yes, sorry
MBCook 2y ago
TBF that’s what Apple did, basically. It wasn’t in the initial release. Needed a software update 2 months later or so. You were only supposed to get 1 year (?) of service. But they extended that by a year. Because of that everyone with a qualifying phone is still in the “free” stage so we still don’t know what it will cost. Or when that will start. If ever. I’ve never used it but I like that my iPhone has it. I would never carry a Garmin (city/suburb life, no point) but I know the satellite is there if needed. I think Apple is expanding it to iMessage this year (text only) though for all we know that will cost extra.
- brookst 2y ago
  It's doubtful they'll ever charge for SOS. The "one year, one more year" thing is likely to make the accounting and liability work out. If they had just said "free for the life of the phone" it would have locked them into providing the service for many years, and required revenue deferral for many years. Easier to just under-promise.
  - MBCook 2y ago
    That’s kind of what I expect. It will simply be free forever but maybe the other services that they might add in the future, such as iMessage over satellite, will cost extra. “A man got lost in the woods and died because he didn’t pay Apple two dollars a month“ is probably not a headline they want to see. It’s also possible they didn’t know how often it would end up getting used and so they said that is a hedge in case it ended up too expensive on their end. Now that they know it’s not they don’t really worry about it.
    - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 2y ago
      I mean they they don't have to choose between "100% free forever" and "not free and literally kill the people who didn't pay in advance." They could just leave it enabled for everyone, and then retroactively charge them for a (moderately hefty) 1 year subscription if they end up using it.
trompetenaccoun 2y ago
Only works in the US and not even in all states. Ridiculous. What's the point of satellites to then be so geo-restricted?
- brookst 2y ago
  Regulations don't much care about what's technically possible.
  - zukzuk 2y ago
    Apple was able to make it work in most "developed" countries (do we have a better term for these countries now?). I guess they're just better at the regulatory game?
    - trompetenaccoun 2y ago
      Also why would regulations prevent them from operating in Alaska, for example? I'm sure the Alaskan government would be happy to provide better emergency connectivity, highly doubt regulation is the issue. People are already being rescued, this here happened in 2022: https://www.businessinsider.com/stranded-man-alaska-rescued-apple-iphone-14-emergency-sos-satellite-2022-12 https://www.businessinsider.com/stranded-man-alaska-rescued-...
      - lxgr 2y ago
        Google presumably uses Skylo, and that's only available in some regions. I believe they currently only use Terrestar-1 and Terrestar-2, with Inmarsat to follow some time this year for almost global coverage. Terrestar-1 covers the lower 48 US states with one spot beam, and Alaska and Hawaii with another one each, but I believe the latter two ones are relatively new, so maybe Google isn't using these yet? I suspect this because I've used a Motorola Defy Satellite Link for the past year, which uses IoT-NTN just like the Pixel's baseband, and it's only been available in Europe and the lower 48 at launch (i.e. also with Hawaii and Alaska missing). [1] https://www.satbeams.com/satellites?norad=35496 https://www.satbeams.com/satellites?norad=35496
uyzstvqs 2y ago
What's going to be more interesting is what hardware is added for this, and what it can be made to do other than this service that's obviously part of Google Play Services. Can it be made useful in some way on AOSP?

S201 2y ago

Plus Garmin devices use the Iridium network which has truly global coverage (as opposed to Globalstar which is only in select areas of the world) as well as other features useful for non-emergency backcountry travel. I won't be dropping my Garmin InReach any time soon.

DebtDeflation 2y ago
Correct. Globalstar is a "bent pipe analog repeater" network. They have ground gateway stations that provide connectivity from their satellites to the public switched telephone network and internet. In order for your handheld to work, you need a satellite in view and that satellite must have a ground gateway station in view. Iridium doesn't have that latter requirement. I won't be getting rid of my InReach Mini anytime soon.
- lxgr 2y ago
  On the other hand, that "bent pipe" nature is what allowed Globalstar to support a (presumably) completely new type of protocol and modulation over existing, decades-old satellites! Apple has also been adding new ground stations as part of their agreement with Globalstar, which has, among other things, added coverage to Hawaii. I'm pretty sure they have much larger plans for this than just emergency texting.
charles_f 2y ago
Plus the fact that the inReach has a mad battery life, and is a very simple and dependable device.
switchbak 2y ago
I know someone on our local SAR team that had mentioned they were having issues with folks using the Apple devices for SOS that resulted in long delays. This is for coastal British Columbia, so perhaps not a universal experience - but something to keep in mind. Personally, I'd stick with the better known option, and like another commenter said - the battery life on the Garmins are pretty amazing, and it doesn't weight much.
not2b 2y ago
I do a lot of solo hiking and use a Garmin with InReach in case of emergency and to reassure my wife, it can also send my position every N minutes (I usually set it for 20 when on the trails in an area with limited or no cell phone coverage). I wouldn't mind if similar functionality becomes common on cell phones.
delfinom 2y ago
And I rather depend on a PLB, whose signal can be picked up by an international network of receivers on 406MHz, and even transmits a homing beacon for first responders. No subscription required either. You simply register the beacon with a government agency (in the US, its via the NOAA, and distress signals are handled by the coast guard or air force receivers)

thedman9052 2y ago

How much is the subscription for the Garmin device? I'm curious because I bought my parents a personal locator beacon, since they are retired and hike constantly. It costs more up front but has no subscription, and I didn't want to gift something with a high recurring cost. There's no communication option, it's all or nothing - if it's activated they send the helicopters. On the plus side, it has a fixed 7 year battery life, so no need to worry about charging or it dying when you need it (if you remember the expiration date). I'm curious what Google will charge for their SOS feature and how it will compare to PLV or a satellite communicator.

NotSammyHagar 2y ago
It's not cheap, about $12/month is cheapest plan, https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461. Pay 0.10c for tracking points, you have 10 text messages a month. If you use it a lot, you'll start to increase your fees, I'm on the next higher plan which I think is $35/m. I should revisit that, it's a lot over a year ;-) They have the basic devices (connect with phone, or emergency button), I have the one with maps built in. That one is awesome, it has worldwide city and trail maps. Maps works without a subscription, but I do use it for trips where there is no phone service more to get text messages.
- dgacmu 2y ago
  They also charge you for time spent with service suspended. We finally canceled ours when my wife got an iphone with satellite SOS - it was pretty expensive for something we would typically use (activate, not actually use - we've never had to SOS) one or two months per year.
- BeetleB 2y ago
  I assume you meant 10c and not 0.1c. (See https://verizonmath.blogspot.com/ https://verizonmath.blogspot.com/)
  - NotSammyHagar 2y ago
    yes, sorry

MBCook 2y ago

TBF that’s what Apple did, basically. It wasn’t in the initial release. Needed a software update 2 months later or so. You were only supposed to get 1 year (?) of service. But they extended that by a year. Because of that everyone with a qualifying phone is still in the “free” stage so we still don’t know what it will cost. Or when that will start. If ever. I’ve never used it but I like that my iPhone has it. I would never carry a Garmin (city/suburb life, no point) but I know the satellite is there if needed. I think Apple is expanding it to iMessage this year (text only) though for all we know that will cost extra.

brookst 2y ago
It's doubtful they'll ever charge for SOS. The "one year, one more year" thing is likely to make the accounting and liability work out. If they had just said "free for the life of the phone" it would have locked them into providing the service for many years, and required revenue deferral for many years. Easier to just under-promise.
- MBCook 2y ago
  That’s kind of what I expect. It will simply be free forever but maybe the other services that they might add in the future, such as iMessage over satellite, will cost extra. “A man got lost in the woods and died because he didn’t pay Apple two dollars a month“ is probably not a headline they want to see. It’s also possible they didn’t know how often it would end up getting used and so they said that is a hedge in case it ended up too expensive on their end. Now that they know it’s not they don’t really worry about it.
  - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 2y ago
    I mean they they don't have to choose between "100% free forever" and "not free and literally kill the people who didn't pay in advance." They could just leave it enabled for everyone, and then retroactively charge them for a (moderately hefty) 1 year subscription if they end up using it.

trompetenaccoun 2y ago

Only works in the US and not even in all states. Ridiculous. What's the point of satellites to then be so geo-restricted?

brookst 2y ago
Regulations don't much care about what's technically possible.
- zukzuk 2y ago
  Apple was able to make it work in most "developed" countries (do we have a better term for these countries now?). I guess they're just better at the regulatory game?
  - trompetenaccoun 2y ago
    Also why would regulations prevent them from operating in Alaska, for example? I'm sure the Alaskan government would be happy to provide better emergency connectivity, highly doubt regulation is the issue. People are already being rescued, this here happened in 2022: https://www.businessinsider.com/stranded-man-alaska-rescued-apple-iphone-14-emergency-sos-satellite-2022-12 https://www.businessinsider.com/stranded-man-alaska-rescued-...
    - lxgr 2y ago
      Google presumably uses Skylo, and that's only available in some regions. I believe they currently only use Terrestar-1 and Terrestar-2, with Inmarsat to follow some time this year for almost global coverage. Terrestar-1 covers the lower 48 US states with one spot beam, and Alaska and Hawaii with another one each, but I believe the latter two ones are relatively new, so maybe Google isn't using these yet? I suspect this because I've used a Motorola Defy Satellite Link for the past year, which uses IoT-NTN just like the Pixel's baseband, and it's only been available in Europe and the lower 48 at launch (i.e. also with Hawaii and Alaska missing). [1] https://www.satbeams.com/satellites?norad=35496 https://www.satbeams.com/satellites?norad=35496

uyzstvqs 2y ago

What's going to be more interesting is what hardware is added for this, and what it can be made to do other than this service that's obviously part of Google Play Services. Can it be made useful in some way on AOSP?